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Leopard wounds five in Indian courthouse

Leopard wounds five in Indian courthouse
A leopard wounded at least five people on Wednesday when it strayed into a courthouse on the outskirts of India's capital. (AFP/File)
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Updated 08 February 2023
AFP

Leopard wounds five in Indian courthouse

Leopard wounds five in Indian courthouse
  • Leopards have been classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Updated 08 February 2023
AFP

GHAZIABAD, India: A leopard wounded at least five people on Wednesday when it strayed into a courthouse on the outskirts of India’s capital, police said.
Footage of the incident circulated on social media showed several men injured in the attack, including one man who was carried away from the courthouse in Ghaziabad while watched by onlookers.
Body-armor-clad police were waving flaming sticks and laying out nets inside the courthouse in an effort to corral the creature, video seen by AFP showed.
“The leopard jumped around in the court complex in panic and five to six people were injured. Efforts are on to capture it,” an officer in the local police station told AFP, declining to give his name.
Ghaziabad is on the eastern edge of New Delhi and is close to an expanse of forest that is a leopard habitat.
At least 12,000 leopards live in India. They have been classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Officials say that, on average, one leopard is killed per day for straying into areas occupied by humans in India, with the number of incidents on the rise due to shrinking forest habitats.

Topics: India leopard courthouse

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NYUAD unveils new map of Mars using images captured on Emirates Exploration Imager

NYUAD unveils new map of Mars using images captured on Emirates Exploration Imager
Updated 30 March 2023
Arab News

NYUAD unveils new map of Mars using images captured on Emirates Exploration Imager

NYUAD unveils new map of Mars using images captured on Emirates Exploration Imager
  • Work combines more than 3,000 observations from over 2 years
  • Findings will help scientists learn about major climatic shifts
Updated 30 March 2023
Arab News

ABU DHABI: NYU Abu Dhabi research scientist Dimitra Atri, from the Center for Space Science, and his team have unveiled a map of Mars, using images captured by the Emirates Exploration Imager.

The EXI is an advanced imaging system aboard the Emirates Mars Mission currently orbiting the planet, the Emirates News Agency reported on Thursday.

The new color composite map combines more than 3,000 observations over two years, which have been processed together.

The Mars Map captures the planet’s regions and features in high resolution, including polar ice caps, mountains, volcanoes, remnants of ancient rivers, lakes, valleys, and impact craters.

The map will also help scientists learn about major climatic shifts that can fundamentally alter planets, WAM reported.

The map is the result of the UAE’s significant scientific advances and will aim to inspire more young people in the country to pursue STEM careers. 

Atri said: “We plan to make our map available to the entire planet, as part of the new and more advanced ‘Atlas of Mars’ which we have been working on, and [which] will be available in both English and Arabic once published.

“The hope is that this accessibility will make it a great tool for researchers and also students to learn more about Mars, and showcase the possibilities that the space sector in the UAE can offer.

“More than 30 previous spacecraft have only managed to capture a snapshot of the Mars weather, whilst EMM will follow the seasonal changes throughout a Martian year.

“The Hope probe is helping researchers to create this global image of the planet due to its strategic position.

“Hope circles Mars in an elliptical orbit that allows it to observe from much further away than any other spacecraft. This strategic position is helping researchers to create a global image of the planet.” 

EMM is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission and was commissioned by the UAE’s leaders in 2014.

The spacecraft was launched from Japan in July 2020 and entered Mars’ orbit on Feb. 9, 2021.

Topics: NYUAD Emirates Mars Mission

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Weapons to wasabi: Russian jihadist runs Syria sushi outlet

Weapons to wasabi: Russian jihadist runs Syria sushi outlet
Updated 30 March 2023
AFP

Weapons to wasabi: Russian jihadist runs Syria sushi outlet

Weapons to wasabi: Russian jihadist runs Syria sushi outlet
  • Islam Shakhbanov headed to Syria in 2015 “to take part in jihad.”
  • Shakhbanov was inspired to open “Sushi Idlib” after sampling Japanese cuisine during his travels
Updated 30 March 2023
AFP

IDLIB: A Russian jihadist has traded his weapons for wasabi by opening a small sushi restaurant in war-torn Syria’s rebel-held northwest, as the conflict wanes and fighters look for other income.
Islam Shakhbanov, 37, from Russia’s Muslim-majority Dagestan republic, said he headed to Syria in 2015 “to take part in jihad.”
But after years of war, the Damascus government has regained control of most of the country and Syria’s main frontlines have largely frozen, putting many foreign fighters out of a job.
“In the end I opened this sushi restaurant,” the goateed man told AFP, standing near a banner displaying a fish, with slogans in Arabic, English and Russian.
Wearing a warm vest, and with a dark winter cap on his head, Shakhbanov said he fought alongside jihadist factions and the Faylaq Al-Sham rebel group until about five years ago.
Faylaq Al-Sham is a Sunni Islamist group that has acted as Turkiye’s proxy during several Turkish military campaigns on Syrian soil. It has also been the source of pro-Ankara mercenaries sent to battle in Libya on the side of the UN-recognized government.
The group fought fierce battles against the Russian-backed Syrian regime in Aleppo, Idlib and Latakia provinces, and is considered close to the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Shakhbanov said he had lived in countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, and was inspired to open “Sushi Idlib” after sampling Japanese cuisine during his travels.
He boasted it was the first sushi restaurant in the conservative enclave, Syria’s last main rebel bastion where many people depend on humanitarian aid.
Rebel-held Idlib is home to about three million people, around half of them displaced by 12 years of war.
The enclave is controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, and other rebel groups — some of whom count fighters from central Asia and the Caucasus among their ranks.
Landlocked Idlib is surrounded by regime troops to the south but borders Turkiye to the north, with the coast less than 25 kilometers (16 miles) away in some places.
Shakhbanov said he imports many of his ingredients from Turkiye — pickled ginger, soy sauce, prawns and even crab.


Idlib was among the areas struck by a February 6 earthquake that collapsed buildings and killed tens of thousands, mostly in Turkiye.
The sushi restaurant survived unscathed.
Behind the counter, two chefs, also former fighters from Russia, chopped fresh salmon and cucumber, spreading the ingredients onto a bed of rice and seaweed before pressing everything into a roll.
The restaurant at first struggled to attract customers in the impoverished enclave where Japanese food is an oddity, but Shakhbanov bills his seaweed rolls as “affordable.”
A California roll sells for 60 Turkish lira ($3), double the price of a large shawarma sandwich more familiar to local residents.
He said he now has about a dozen regulars and hopes to attract more customers by adding fried dishes to the menu.
But Shakhbanov, married to a Syrian woman and with two young daughters, said he is ready to leave the sushi behind and taste combat again should divided rebel factions agree on a military strategy.
“I opened a restaurant,” he said, “but I did not abandon jihad.”

Topics: Russia Syria Idlib

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Actor, former MMA fighter Shah Hussain to feature in upcoming film

Actor, former MMA fighter Shah Hussain to feature in upcoming film
Updated 28 March 2023
Arab News

Actor, former MMA fighter Shah Hussain to feature in upcoming film

Actor, former MMA fighter Shah Hussain to feature in upcoming film
  • Star was involved in choreographing the fight scenes of ‘Morris Men’
Updated 28 March 2023
Arab News

LONDON: British Pakistani actor Shah Hussain, who was formerly a professional mixed martial arts fighter, is set to star in an upcoming film, “Last Respects.”

Hussain has appeared in a number of popular productions, including Netflix’s “Red Notice,” SKY AMC’s “Gangs of London,” and Apple TV’s “Slow Horses.”

Featuring in “Morris Men,” Hussain played the role of Huss Ellis and, due to his extensive martial arts experience, he was closely involved behind the camera in choreographing the movie’s fight scenes.

In addition to being the first professional Pakistani MMA fighter in the early 2000s, he is also a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Hussain stars alongside a cast of prominent stars, including Peter Andre, Sean Cronin and Mark Pegg, in his forthcoming project “Last Respects.” The plot revolves around three gangsters who pay their respects to their ringleader, only to discover that it is a test of their loyalty.

Topics: Shah Hussain

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Nestle hands out limited edition KitKat Iftar Bars in Canada

Nestle hands out limited edition KitKat Iftar Bars in Canada
Updated 28 March 2023
Arab News

Nestle hands out limited edition KitKat Iftar Bars in Canada

Nestle hands out limited edition KitKat Iftar Bars in Canada
  • The 30-piece bars, which have one piece for each day of Ramadan, were given away in partnership with social media influencers in the country
Updated 28 March 2023
Arab News

LONDON: Food and beverage company Nestle Canada partnered with Muslim content creators to give away limited edition KitKat Iftar Bars for Ramadan.

Where regular KitKats contain two or four chocolate-covered wafer fingers, this extra-large version has 30 — one for every day of the holy month.

Nestle Canada said the special version of the snack was designed to commemorate the Iftar tradition observed by Muslims when they have their evening meal after fasting all day during Ramadan. KitKat’s long-time advertising slogan is “Have a break, and the company added that it wanted to celebrate the breaking of the fast at sundown.

Nestle Canada gave away the special KitKat Iftar Bars through partnerships with selected social media influencers in the country.

 

Topics: Nestle Ramadan 2023

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Prince Harry makes surprise showing at UK privacy case

Prince Harry makes surprise showing at UK privacy case
Updated 27 March 2023
AFP

Prince Harry makes surprise showing at UK privacy case

Prince Harry makes surprise showing at UK privacy case
  • Others taking part in the legal action include Elton John, Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost
Updated 27 March 2023
AFP

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Harry on Monday made an unexpected appearance at London’s high court for a hearing in a privacy claim launched by celebrities and other figures against a newspaper publisher.
The publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers (ANL), is trying to end the high court claims brought by high-profile figures including Harry and singer Elton John over alleged unlawful activity at its titles.
Harry, who now lives in California after quitting royal duties in 2019 and launching a barrage of criticism of the British royal family, was pictured arriving at the court in central London.
Others taking part in the legal action include actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost as well as John’s husband David Furnish, Doreen Lawrence — the mother of murder victim Stephen Lawrence — and former Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes.
Lawyers for the group told the court the publisher of the Daily Mail commissioned the breaking and entry into private property, illegally intercepted voicemail messages and obtained medical records.
“The claimants each claim that in different ways they were the victim of numerous unlawful acts carried out by the defendant, or by those acting on the instructions of its newspapers, The Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday,” lawyer David Sherborne said in written submissions to the court.
The alleged unlawful included “illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening into live landline calls, obtaining private information, such as itemised phone bills or medical records, by deception..., using private investigators to commit these unlawful information gathering acts on their behalf and even commissioning the breaking and entry into private property,” Sherborne said.
The alleged wrongdoing dates from 1993-2011, but some went on as late as 2018, he added.
Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, sat near the back of the court, two seats away from fellow complainant Frost.
ANL has described the allegations as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal.”
Britain’s phone hacking scandal, which first blew up in 2006, saw journalists at the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World hack into the voicemails of royals, celebrities and murder victims.
It triggered the closure of the mass-selling Sunday tabloid, a mammoth police investigation, a judge-led inquiry and criminal charges that gripped Britain for years.


A spokesperson for ANL also said the allegations were “unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence.”
A four four-day preliminary hearing is being held at the high court with ANL arguing that the allegations are “stale” and should be dismissed without a trial.
Harry, the younger son of Britain’s King Charles III, has long had a difficult relationship with the media.
His mother Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 after she and her companion, Dodi Fayed, left the Ritz Hotel pursued by paparazzi photographers.
In 2019 while on a tour of South Africa with his wife Meghan, Harry linked media intrusion to Diana’s death and spoke of his fears of history repeating itself.
“I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mum,” he told television journalist Tom Bradby, accusing sections of the media of waging a “ruthless campaign” against Meghan.
“Everything that she (Diana) went through, and what happened to her, is incredibly important every single day, and that is not me being paranoid, that is just me not wanting a repeat of the past,” he said.
Both Harry and Meghan have been involved in other recent legal action targeting British newspapers.
The couple, whose popularity ratings have plummeted, have dominated headlines in the past few years due to a string of interviews, a Netflix series and Harry’s autobiography “Spare” in which they complained bitterly about their treatment as working members of the royal family.
Buckingham Palace has not responded to the claims, while the late Queen Elizabeth II famously commented that “recollections may vary.”

Topics: Prince Harry Daily Mail

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